Surgical instruments such as energy-based devices are typically used in conjunction with energy sources (external energy sources or portable energy sources incorporated into the instruments themselves) to apply and control the application of energy to tissue to thermally treat, e.g., heat, tissue to achieve a desired tissue effect. Electrosurgical forceps, for example, utilize both the mechanical clamping action of jaw members thereof and the energy provided by the energy source to heat tissue grasped between the jaw members for achieving a desired tissue effect, e.g., sealing tissue. Typically, after grasped tissue is sealed, a clinician advances a blade through the electrosurgical forceps to sever the sealed tissue while the sealed tissue is disposed between the jaw members.
Effective surgical instruments have blade configurations designed to guarantee complete tissue severance. Given that tissue may have many different shapes and dimensions, surgical instruments that account for such differences often provide superior effectiveness and/or usability. In performing finer dissection procedures, profiles of jaw members of surgical instruments are progressively becoming smaller, particularly at distal ends of the jaw members of these surgical instruments. Consequently, reduction of jaw member profiles increases the challenge of providing surgical instruments suitable for completely and efficiently severing the sealed tissue.